A FOOD AND LIFESTYLE BLOG
In my post today, “The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Indian Spices” I am going to help you understand all about Indian Spices. Spices are what brings our food to life. My guess is that if you are reading this post, there is a good chance that you are interested in Indian cuisine. I will take a big leap of faith and assume you enjoy it too.
Cumin is the dried seed of the herb Cuminum cyminum, a member of the parsley family. Cumin is one of the most consumed spices right after chiles and peppercorns and has many uses in cooking. It is a staple spice in many food cultures, particularly Mexican, Indian, African, and Asian cuisine.
The King of spices, Black pepper (Piper nigrum) also called Pepper. It is a perennial climbing and flowering vine in the family Piperaceae. It is cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and in seasoning dishes.
Bay Leaves. Is it a herb or a spice? The Bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be used whole, or as dried and ground.There are a variety of health benefits and uses of bay leaves, making them a popular herb and spice for cooking.
Cardamom is a spice made from the seed pods of various plants in the ginger family.In Indian and Middle Eastern cooking, you will find cardamom being used as a spice in most of the recipes. While Indian cooking involves more of the whole cardamom pods in their rice dishes and curries, occasionally using powdered cardamom in our sweet dishes, Middle Eastern cooking leans more towards ground cardamom in their desserts.
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, Syzygium aromaticum. They are native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice.Clove flower buds are harvested in their immature state and then dried to be used as a spice. They are available whole and in the ground form to be used as a spice in cooking.